Alphabet Soup - S
by SMK KMS
Summary: Just a few Amanda rambles and Lee thoughts. Brought to you by the letter S.


Disclaimers: The characters in this story are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and Shoot The Moon Productions. I make no money from these characters; I simply like to share their world for a short time.

A/N Just a little glimpse into Lee's and Amanda's thoughts on their lives and relationship. Hope you enjoy! (Constructive reviews are always welcome.) A special thanks to Bruce Boxleitner and Kate Jackson—as well as the rest of the cast—for portraying these characters so wonderfully.

 **Spy**. When she thought of the word spy, James Bond was always the first thing that came to mind. As a teenager, she had read many of Ian Fleming's novels; she used to daydream about what it would be like to live in that world. Her father had read them with her—the second time around for him. And, of course, they had gone to see each and every Bond movie when it was released. The first movie release after her father had died was extremely hard for her. But she had finally decided to go to the theater, watch the movie, and eat an entire tub of popcorn in his honor. While the rest of the theater sat engrossed in the action, she sat with tears of sadness running down her cheeks. That was the most she had cried since his death. When the lights came up in the theater, she stayed until the last credits were shown. It was at that point that she realized her father had seen the movie with her—at least in spirit. It was at that point, too, that she knew she would be fine. Her heart had finally begun to heal.

A few years ago, however, her concept of 'spy' changed dramatically! The real spies didn't have all the gadgets that Bond possessed. And they weren't always in mortal danger—only sometimes. They also did lots of paperwork—something she had NEVER seen James Bond do.

If only her father could see her now; she was actually a spy—well, trainee spy, but why quibble. And she was working with a real-life Bond. She had always thought Sean Connery was simply dreamy up on the big screen, but he didn't have anything on Lee Stetson. She thought her father would approve!

 **Spy**. He really had never liked that word. He was an intelligence operative. There, that sounded much better to him!

Did he enjoy his job? Yes . . . tremendously. He liked to think that he was making a difference in the world—somehow making the world a safer place. And, if he did say so himself, he was pretty good at his job.

Of course to the people he knew outside of the Agency, his true profession had to remain a secret. Did anyone really understand how difficult it was to keep that a secret—even for someone trained in keeping secrets? That's why he had begun, early on, to tell his dates that he was an astronaut, engineer, etc. That was just as easy as disguising the truth! Maybe that's why he had been drawn to Leslie. While he still had to lie, she could read between the lines. But, alas, that relationship hadn't quite worked out.

There was only one brunette that could hold his interest—and she knew _exactly_ what he did for a living. She didn't have to read between the lines; she worked right by his side, doing the same crazy job.

Hmmm . . . maybe she was becoming his partner in the spy business after all!

 **Smile**. "If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours." Just how many times had she seen that on a poster, bumper sticker, etc. And it was a saying that she agreed with wholeheartedly. She tried to always have a smile on her face. Even when she was going through her divorce, she had tried her best to smile. After all, it wasn't as if the divorce was the end of the world. She just knew she was headed to a better future. She even told that to Joe when he returned from Estocia after the mixup there. "It's going to be a great future," she had said with a smile.

It certainly seemed that she was smiling quite a bit lately. Even her mother had commented just the other day. If only her mother knew the reason for those smiles. As much as she wanted to share with her mother, she knew it would only lead to questions she wasn't quite willing to answer. In fact she didn't know if she had answers to those questions herself. She only knew that her smiles were the direct result of one extremely handsome 'intelligence operative.'

Just the thought of that intelligence operative—and his incredible dimpled smile- made _her_ smile!

 **Smile**. He had never smiled much. In his crazy life, there really wasn't much to smile about-except, of course, when he was out on a date with one of his many ladies.

Oh, he could work that smile when he needed someone from the steno pool to type up his reports. He was, after all, a fast learner. Just one look at that dimpled grin of his and the ladies would do just about anything for him—in fact, some of them had. Those thoughts definitely brought a smile to his face.

As of late, however, he found himself smiling more and more—and he was dating less and less. Now just what was up with that, he asked himself?

Not only was he smiling more, but he was seeking out someone else's smile. He would show up outside her kitchen window just to see her smile. He would call her at all hours of the day and night just to hear her smile through the phone lines. He couldn't wait to see her 'good morning' smile when she walked into the Q Bureau every day. When she smiled, no matter the reason, her whole face would light up. But when she smiled at him, her eyes became these incredible pools of deep chocolate brown that seemed to pierce right through to his soul. And that made him smile—more than he had ever done in his life!

Hmmm . . . did his smile affect her the same way? He certainly hoped so.

 **Stress**. Her everyday life was full of it! Just taking care of two boys—and a mother—was stressful enough. Then there were bills to pay, carpools to chauffer, fundraisers to organize, Junior Trailblazer meetings to coordinate, etc. There were days when she simply wanted to throw up her hands and surrender! She often wished she could find relaxation in a bubble bath the way her mother did. Unfortunately, all she did in a bubble bath was stress about what she could be doing if she wasn't wasting time in the bathtub.

Now that she was working at IFF she was experiencing a different type of stress. The stress of money was being alleviated, but the stress of working in the intelligence community more than made up the difference. Anyone that could honestly say that there was no stress involved was, in her opinion, completely crazy. Her only sanity came in the knowledge that Lee would always be there to rescue her. All she had to do was think about him and all stress seemed to melt away. Once he had rescued her from whatever peril had appeared, the only stress that remained was in determining what excuse to tell her mother and the boys for missing dinner yet again.

While working for IFF might be stressful, she couldn't think of a better antidote than Lee.

 **Stress**. He certainly had enough of that in his life! Working for the Agency saw to it. And Amanda added to his stress on the job. She was always getting herself into situations that she shouldn't. It seemed like he was always having to rescue her from some fiasco or another. And she NEVER stayed in the car! Then there were her ramblings. Just trying to figure them out could spike his blood pressure a notch or two.

And if Amanda and the Agency weren't enough, there was always the added stress of the occasional visit from the Colonel.

Luckily Amanda had helped with that stress the last time the Colonel was in town. Come to think about it, she had helped calm him on quite a few occasions that didn't involve the Colonel, too.

He wasn't quite sure how she did it, though! One minute he would be pacing like a caged lion, then the next he would be calmly sitting on a chair just looking into her eyes as she stroked his arm. What kind of spell had she cast over him? He actually liked the stress; it kept him on his toes and helped him do his job. So why was she so intent on calming him down?

Billy-that had to be it. He'd given her a secret assignment to take some of the stress out of his life. Yes—that had to be it! He should be angry at Billy, shouldn't he?

Hmmm . . . No, he should be thanking Billy! Amanda was just what the doctor ordered; she was the best stress-reducer in the world.

 **Station One**. Just a few years ago, the words Station One would have probably evoked an image of a firehouse . . . or maybe a railway or subway station. Now, however, those words held quite a different meaning.

Station One was a lot of hard work. While she had begged Mr. Melrose and the Agency for training, after half an hour at Station One she was sorely tempted to quit. But she had not been raised as a quitter. She also knew that if she were to quit, her agency training would be quickly terminated. She would forever be civilian auxiliary; she could never truly be Lee's partner.

She was a mother, after all. She could tough out anything! And the farther into the training she got, the more she actually began to enjoy it. She found the other recruits in the class interesting; she thoroughly enjoyed meeting new people. Having Mr. Melrose for an instructor was great, too, although she really could have done without Francine breathing down her neck. (One day all those snide comments were bound to come back and bite her in the *ss; she just hoped she was there to see it!)

Having Lee in the class as the ringer made it even more interesting. She wasn't about to tell him what she really thought of his legs, however; it would only inflate his already big ego. But he really did have great legs. Heck, she thought everything about him was pretty great.

 **Station One**. Oh how he hated his mandatory rotations there. It was bad enough that he had had to endure it when he was in training all those years ago. Serving as an instructor wasn't too bad, but this last time Billy had assigned him as the ringer. Why did Billy do things like that to him? Wasn't he one of the top—if not the best—agents Billy had?

At least Billy had run the show this time, with Francine as his assistant. And Amanda was one of the recruits. He still couldn't believe that anyone could have honestly mistaken her for the ringer. Francine still turned slightly green at the mention of Amanda's driving skills, for goodness sake!

But her presence at Station One had made an otherwise boring assignment interesting—to say the least—even if she had made a sarcastic crack about his legs! While the enemy agent in the class had livened things up a bit, Amanda had still provided a rather pleasant distraction. Try as he might, he couldn't think of a single sarcastic comment about _her_ legs! They were more than lovely to look at—as was the rest of her body. He had to admit—she was in terrific shape for a mother of two—definitely easy on the eyes.

Hmmm . . . Where was that train of thought leading? If he ever had to visit Station One again, he had better keep his mind on his job!

 **Scarecrow**. "We're off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz." "If I only had a brain." Why did those two songs keep rattling around in her head? She really should re-read the book; she hadn't done that in years, even though it sat on her bookshelf in the den. She did watch the movie whenever it came on TV, however. The boys had watched it a couple of times with her, but they hadn't taken to it the way that she had. Her mother would occasionally watch with her, but it wasn't her 'cup of tea' either.

While she could empathize with Dorothy, and Toto was just adorable, there was one particular character that had always touched her heart—the Scarecrow. While he claimed not to have a brain, he was by far the smartest of the bunch. Maybe she identified with him because she had often felt the same way in school. She didn't feel like she was very intelligent, but everyone always called her the smart one. Maybe it was her ability to see things differently? Or maybe it was her ability to reason things through? Maybe her ability to spot things that others had overlooked? She didn't know, but those abilities had certainly served her well in her job at the Agency.

Right now, another Scarecrow was touching her heart. She couldn't believe that her partner's code name was that of her favorite character. And while her Scarecrow did have a brain, he didn't always use it to its full potential. Maybe that's why they worked so well together, she thought. He supplied the brawn, and she supplied the brains. No! As she thought harder, she realized he had a beautiful brain . . . among other assets. Were her thoughts leading her down the yellow brick road? If so, she certainly hoped her Scarecrow was waiting for her at the end.

 **Scarecrow**. That's me! What a feather in his cap have been selected for the Oz Network at the tender age of 25. Paul Barnes had been astute—not just in selecting a terrific team, but in assigning code names, too. While he knew better, he often rushed into a situation without giving it the proper amount of thought. He was impulsive and just a little brash. So he could definitely see why Paul had dubbed him Scarecrow. He had, after all, read the book and seen the movie.

And his Dorothy had stolen his heart. But it was a love wasn't meant to be, thanks to Serdayitch. The Tinman definitely didn't have a heart. Baum had gotten that one wrong in the book.

Now the Cowardly Lion was another story. The lion certainly reminded him of someone that wasn't part of the Oz Network . . . someone that didn't like guns or violence of any kind . . . someone who didn't have a mean bone in her body . . . someone who always had a kind word to say about everyone. Yet that someone possessed the courage of ten agents. He had never met anyone quite like her. Nothing seemed to phase her. Oh, he knew she was scared. But the key to everything . . . she didn't show it. It was only after the danger had passed that she broke down.

Hmmm . . . Come to think of it, most of her breakdowns came in his arms. And that was more than alright with him.

 **Secrets**. She was very tired of secrets. She had a secret job, which consisted of keeping the Agency's secrets. Plus she had to keep the Agency a secret from her mother and the boys.

When she first started working for the Agency, keeping it a secret hadn't been so hard. The plant and pet-sitting business had been a great diversionary tactic. It permitted her to be out of the house, sometimes at all hours of the day and night. As her work with the Agency progressed, however, the hours turned into days at times. It was becoming more and more difficult to come up with plausible excuses for her extended absences. And the standard "I was tied up" just wasn't cutting it any more. While usually true, it didn't satisfy her mother's curiosity. And if her mother's curiosity wasn't satisfied, she started asking questions-rather pointed questions. (She was sure Dotty could give the KGB a run for their money!)

Then there was the secret agent—Lee. She definitely couldn't tell her mother about that secret! Her mother's questions about him would really become quite pointed! In fact, she was certain they would become quite embarrassing. And she just wasn't ready to go down that road with her mother.

As she thought about it, there was one other great secret she was keeping from everyone—including herself if she was honest. She was falling in love with the secret agent.

 **Secrets**. They were his job. Keeping secrets—that was easy. Or at least it was when no one was torturing you. But he had developed a montra that would see him through even the most painful torture. That's part of what made him so good at his job.

Getting others to tell their secrets—now that was a bit harder. But it was an important part of his job, too. People like Auggie, they wanted to tell you their secrets . . . even if what they were telling you wasn't that secret. And, of course, those kind of people always expected money in return. Getting secrets out of other operatives-now that was a different story. But he had learned some tricks along the way. Plus the Agency had taught him several "classes" of interrogation techniques.

While he had always been particularly good at the Class D interrogation, Francine was the queen. She could get anyone of the opposite sex to spill their guts. He was usually just as successful, but lately? He didn't know what it was, but Class D just wasn't his thing anymore.

Now Amanda, she excelled at Class C. He didn't know just what it was about her, but all she had to do was smile at a suspect to get him or her singing like a canary. Just what was her secret?

Amanda . . . secrets . . .

Hmmm . . . he was secretly in love with her. But he was good at keeping secrets, remember?!

 **Strength**. Was she strong? She really didn't think so. While she was tall, she only weighed 110 pounds. In her work at the agency, that just wasn't going to cut it. She could never out-power the bad guys.

But she could out-think them! What she lacked in physical strength, she could make up in mental strength—that and the determination that nothing could get her down.

Maybe that's what made her partnership with Lee so perfect. He had all the strength; she just provided the optimism. Even in the most dire of circumstances, they would somehow manage to escape—usually capturing the bad guys in the process.

Lee was strong in other ways, too. At the tender age of five, he had survived the death of his parents. He survived being raised by his military uncle. He even survived the deaths of his first love, Dorothy, and his first partner, Eric. Maybe it was being raised by that military uncle, but he never seemed to falter. She had certainly never seen him cry—nor give any other indication that he was any less than rock-solid emotionally. That's part of what made him such a good agent.

She often thought, however, that behind all that strength was a gentle, loving man just waiting for the right person to break down the wall he had built around his emotions. The wall that she knew he felt gave him his strength. Could she be the one to do it? She thought so!

 **Strength**. Sure, he was physically strong. He could even take on Dr. Pain and win—ok, he could at least hold his own.

And to anyone on the outside, he was emotionally strong, too. He had had to be—and from an early age. But he wasn't strong at all—not compared to Amanda.

She was the strong one. Raising those two boys on her own . . . taking care of the house . . . helping her mother when her father had passed away . . . paying the bills with a limited income . . . balancing work with family life . . . taking on a job that was anything but easy . . . keeping her cool when faced with the dangers of the job . . . keeping all the aspects of her work from her mom and the boys . . . putting up with Francine's sarcastic comments . . . putting up with him . . .

Wait, where did that last one come from? Ok . . . if he was perfectly honest with himself, he wasn't the easiest person to get along with. Anyone at the Agency could tell you that! But Amanda somehow managed to tame him, even when he was frustrated as hell, even when he was frustrated with her!

And as long as he was being honest . . . he needed to add one more thing to her list of strengths. She had been strong enough to tear down the wall he had built around his heart.

Hmmm . . . now if he could only find the strength to tell her how he really felt.


End file.
